Abu Dhabi residents and visitors had sort of a dry run for a long time since ride sharing (including UBER) apps have been banned by the authorities but now CAREEM managed to introduce a new car service option.

Using the CAREEM application allows the use of Limousines in Abu Dhabi that can be paid via credit card through the app, a big improvement as Abu Dhabi taxis so far only accept cash.

When I visited Abu Dhabi last week I was disappointed that there was no more application active that allows easy requests of car service and most importantly the electronic payment of these services. This changed today when I received an email from the service announcing the implementation of Careem Limousine with immediate effect.

Careem is a Middle East and North Africa equivalent to Uber, working in pretty much the same fashion and allows the use of international credit cards as well as various discount codes.

Apart from the 30% discount code (up to 30 AED per ride) you can use thisLoyaltyLobby signup link which gives an additional 30 AED credit for first use of the application.

You are also able to collect loyalty points with Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Airmiles and cellphone provider Etisalat for the fare of your Careem ride.

Conclusion

It’s really a difference of night and day (for me at least) when traveling to a city or country that doesn’t have these car service and ride sharing app nowadays. Especially in countries where paying for taxi rides per credit card is not common practice it’s really beneficial to be able to use such applications instead of having to exchange/withdraw cash money all the time.

I’m glad Careem is back in business in Abu Dhabi and maybe Uber will eventually follow suit when they limit themselves on professional limousine services which I take it was the issue why the services were initially banned as they included private ride shares as well.